PLEASANTON — Every year for the past two decades, men have ditched confining pants for kilts during Labor Day weekend without a worry about social norms.

Things won’t be any different this year when the Caledonian Club of San Francisco hosts its 148th rendition of the Scottish Highland Gathering & Games at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. It is the 20th year the event has been held at the fairgrounds, and organizers this year are highlighting kilts and other Scottish attire with a high-powered fashion show.

“We get visitors from Scotland, and they are quite amazed at the number of kilts because in Scotland the kilt is not everyday attire,” said Floyd Busby, spokesman for the Caledonian Club. “But here, it is an excuse to break out the kilts, and you will see more kilts in Pleasanton than you would in any other part of the world.”

This year, the kilt is hitting the runway.

The fashion show is sponsored by Wm. Glen & Son, a company founded in 1869 that sells Scottish attire and other items at one of its stores in San Francisco. The fashion show sprang from one held at the Westfield Mall in San Francisco in July; members of the Caledonian Club attended it because a special nonjudged section of the show featured Scottish attire.

“I was blown away by it,” said Busby, who attended the July show. “I was thinking that I wear a kilt at our social events, but this was different because some of those (models) didn’t look like us. They had abs. It was a totally different fashion statement.”

Visitors to the Scottish Gatherings & Games will get a chance to see the fashion show with a variety of Scottish clothing (three times Saturday) for free with paid admission to the two-day event. Gates open Saturday and Sept. 1 at 8 a.m. and close at 6:30 p.m. The event starts at 8:30 with the Heavy Events on the athletic field; all other exhibits and venues open at 10.

Tickets start at $12 for youths 12 and older, seniors and the disabled. Adult tickets start at $20. Parking is $8.

Besides the fashion show, the event also returns favorites such as the athletic events, a celebration of Celtic heritage, live music and dance, history re-enactments, sheep dog trials, rugby and shinty (sort of like field hockey), Clydesdale horses, food and the kilted mile race.

The Birds of Prey event also returns. More than 20 exotic birds, including hawks, eagles and falcons, will be on display.

Falconry dates back to 2000 B.C. According to Michael Pociecha, a longtime falconer who has performed at the games for the past 15 years, it isn’t just limited to sports — it’s also a way to educate people about the importance of the birds.

“Falconry is a hunting sport and (the birds) will hunt,” said Pociecha, who has been a falconer for 52 years. “For me, it is not so much about what they catch. I like to see them fly. It takes the stresses of the day away.”

The Birds of Prey venue hosts three shows a day Saturday and Sept. 1.

Busby said that Celtica, a pipe rock band that has thousands of hits on YouTube, will perform during the games. However, one tradition that won’t continue at this year’s event is the Marine Corps band, which fell victim to sequestration but is expected to return to the event in 2014, he added.

However, 28 other pipe bands will perform over the course of the event, including an L.A. pipe band that is planning a special treat for the event, Busby said.

“I like to say (the event) is one of the best values of entertainment that you will find in the greater Bay Area,” he said. “There are 21 different venues within the games to see and do — and for the money, you can’t beat it.”

The 148th Scottish Highland Gathering & Games

When: Saturday and Sept. 1

Where: Alameda County Fairgrounds, 4501 Pleasanton Ave., Pleasanton

Admission: $12 youths 12 and older, those 65 and older and the disabled; $20 adults; Kids 11 and younger and military with active duty identification get in free. Two-day adult tickets are $27. Gates open at 8 a.m. and close at 6:30 p.m.

Parking: $8

Games: The Heavy Events begin at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and Sept. 1 and include top athletes including world champions competing in the caber, weight for height, weight for distance, light hammer and braemer stone.

Music: Four stages of live music, ranging from Celtic rock to single balladeer to roll groups; 29 pipe bands will also perform. Live dancing is also on tap.

Events: The Birds of Prey will host three shows per day; opening ceremonies will be held at 12:30 p.m. each day in front of the main grandstands; sheep dog trials; rugby and shinty; Clydesdale horse team; highland cattle; soccer; British Motor Car Cavalcade; kilted mile race; living history re-enactments; kilted-themed fashion show Saturday; and kids’ activities. Venues open at 10 a.m.

Otto Warmbier was arrested in January 2016 at the end of a brief tourist visit to North Korea. He had been medically evacuated and was being treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center when he died at age 22.